From November 3 through December 9, 2023, people around the world are stepping out and getting together to share 350’s optimism that we can power up a renewable, peaceful and equitable future for all.
We can do it. You can help. You might be able to join a Global Power Up event near you. There is still time to organize a power up event before December 9th. Financial donations are also needed, as always.
Acting now may not be easy, but we can have some fun and comradery. It’s not getting any easier anyway. The more we carry on as we have, the harder it will be. Think of it like inflation and interest. Costs incurred today are painful, but much less than future costs of propagating an Earth energy imbalance through massively inordinate fossil fuel consumption. Nowhere is immune from the consequences. Daily high temperature and precipitation records are already hitting my area.
My own Global Power Up action was more restrained than others. Members of 350 St Louis are organizing for a Veteran’s Day parade next week, and Busta couldn’t join me with the bicycle trailer currently out of service, so this was a solo event for me.
I finished procrastinating too late to notice that my dust gathering printer needed ink. The rear derailleur on my newer bicycle was also broken. My 30 year old Trek 930 was serviceable in time and proved to be useful for more than gathering dust. I loaded it up with a solar panel, battery, a bluetooth speaker, paper, markers and tools, and set up in Clayton, Missouri.
I probably could have talked to more people if I set up in the park by ball fields or pavilions, but this was a good spot at an intersection with a traffic light where vehicle drivers could read the signs too. The challenge is to make print simple and large enough for people in vehicles to read the messages.
Hundreds of vehicles drove by, some even looking a little. There were also pedestrians and bicyclists. And, in encouraging modern developments, a few scooters, electric bikes, electric cars, and one segway went by.
The only real conversation I had turned out to be with a Trumpass. I had just started pulling stuff out of bags when they asked if they could help. Sure, this was a great opportunity to have a conversation and maybe find an ally.
When I said that this was a climate action, they said that they should leave, but stuck around to finish unraveling velcro straps.
They asked what makes me think climate is anything to worry about. I said we have data, including from satellites. Satellites, sure, they responded incredulously.
We can’t know who the polluters are anyway, they said. Al Gore unveiled monitoring tools using satellites at COP27, I responded. Al Gore and satellites didn’t go over well with them.
What about China, they retorted. They’re the real bad polluters. China has cleaned up their garbage a lot, I said.
How do you know? Have you ever been to China I was asked?
Yes, in my first trip in 1999, I explained that the plastic pollution was awful, but that they have cleaned it up considerably. Plus, while they are still terrible coal burners and greenhouse gas polluters, they are leading the world in developing clean technology. Don’t we want to compete for leadership in future technology, I asked. One problem, I opined, is that China is an authoritarian government.
Biden is destroying us, they claimed. I replied that he is doing his best to move us forward. The Inflation Reduction Act alone is helping us to advance modern solutions and technology that helps us compete in future global markets. Trump tried to take us backwards with clean coal. Trump was right about clean coal and the economy, they said. There are more jobs in renewables than fossil fuels, I responded.
Everything is up to god, anyway, they said. I responded that god wants us to act, not just wait around to be taken care of.
By then, the straps were sorted out, and the conversation ended. It wasn’t encouraging, but not surprising.
I could interpret most people passing by and a single conversation with a misinformed Republican supporter as reasons to pack up, go home and stay there away from so many fossil fuel addled and conservative propagandized consumers. Instead, I see it as evidence of the great need to get out, spread climate truth and talk to individuals more.
We can do it. There is still time. We have a lot to overcome to get there. That is why we need more of us to get out, share information, join conversations and take action to restore our Earth energy balance.